Light Conquers All

Dear Family,

I don't know if I got my email off in time, so if I didn't then tell me so I can rewrite it. I can't believe it is already P-day again, weeks fly by now. There is never enough time to do and say all that I feel I should.

This week I have been reading a lot in the Book of Mormon. I am in 3rd Nefi right now and i love it. 3rd Nefi is my favorite book. 3 Nefi 9:18, 21 "I am the light and life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end."..."Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin."

I love when Christ proclaims his title and mission. The Bread of Life, the Fountain of Living Waters, Alpha and Omega, Prince of Peace and Lord of Lords. There is real power in His name. I love the part, "I am the light and life of the world." I love the metaphor of light. When a room is dim, you cannot see where the shadows lie. The other day I was sitting outside on the ground studying. Before me there was a huge tree. The sun was ducking behind clouds and the light grew and diminished rather quickly. On the sidewalk there were spots of something grey. I don't know exactly what they were. When the sun hid behind a cloud I couldn't see them, nor could I tell the difference between the shade under the tree on the sidewalk compared to the sidewalk that was outside of the shade, because in the dimness the gradient of light was too gradual. There was a difference between the shade and the light, but there was no line of demarcation showing the edge of the shade. When the sun came out from behind the cloud I could instantly see the outline of every leaf. i could see the grey spots, and there was a brilliantly defined border between shadow and light on the sidewalk. I guess I would just liken this to the metaphor of Christ being the light of the world. Without Christ, men cannot be saved and thus there is no distinction between light and dark because all are damned. We can't see the traps or grey spots Satan has laid. We have no sense of where we are, because there is no redemption without Christ.

With Christ however, everything is different. We have a defined border between light and darkness, or a law. We, if we choose to open our eyes to the light, can clearly see the snares of Lucifer. Most importantly, if we happen to wander into the dark we are not lost to wander aimlessly for eternity. We have a flashlight to get us back home, back to the light of Christ and back to the presence of the Father.

I think light is one of my favorite metaphors, because in the end light and dark cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Ultimately darkness cannot abide when light is shone forth. Light will always conquer darkness.

I love you all. Thank you for your prayers and letters. i will let you know of any developments in the visa wait.

Love,

Braden